Mr. Chair, I would like to thank my friend and colleague for the tremendous work he does for and with Africa, and for his speech tonight. I would like to raise an issue that has not been talked about much tonight, and that is food.
Before the conflict, 30% of households, some 1.3 million people, lacked consistent access to adequate food. Now a recent assessment shows that many families are now eating one meal a day instead of two or three; 60% of households have no food stocks available; and across the country food prices have increased substantially because fighting has disrupted transport, markets, and traders. At the moment, insecurity is the greatest obstacle to delivering aid. Humanitarian agencies need to plan assistance by the hour to exploit windows of opportunity. Almost all communities, some 94%, have reported not having enough seed for the next planting season, which raises the risk of a poor harvest in 2014.
The reality is the United Nations needs $551 million. It only has 11% of the funds. I am wondering what my colleague thinks Canada should do to close this gap in co-operation with our friends and allies.